.png)
In the age of viral food challenges and TikTok trends, it takes something truly bizarre to shock the internet. But long before social media, one man turned the impossible into his everyday reality—he literally ate an entire airplane.
Michel Lotito, known as Monsieur Mangetout (French for Mr. Eat-All), wasn't your average daredevil. Born in 1950 in France, Lotito had a taste for the inedible—metal, glass, rubber—you name it, he ate it. Over his lifetime, he consumed over nine tons of metal, including 18 bicycles, seven televisions, multiple shopping carts, a coffin, and—his pièce de résistance—a Cessna 150 airplane.
How Do You Even Eat an Airplane?
Lotito didn’t just chomp down on solid steel wings—he had a method. Using an electric saw, he broke his meals into bite-sized chunks, swallowing them whole instead of chewing. To help it all go down, he drank large amounts of mineral oil and water, which acted as a lubricant. Despite what should have been a recipe for disaster, Lotito claimed he never suffered serious health problems from his metal-heavy diet.
A Superhuman Stomach?
Doctors were baffled by Lotito’s ability to digest metal. Some believed he had an unusually thick stomach lining, while others chalked it up to his extreme pain tolerance, which he had developed through self-hypnosis techniques since childhood.
"My teeth are incredibly strong – their strength has been measured at eight tonnes per centimetre squared. But I also secrete strong juices that cause razor blades to melt in my mouth," Lotito once explained.
Yet, ironically, soft foods like bananas and boiled eggs made him sick, causing heartburn and indigestion.
From Party Trick to Global Sensation
Lotito’s journey into metal munching began at 16 when he discovered he could eat strange objects without harm. What started as a quirky talent soon turned into a full-blown career.
He became a global sensation, performing on television and at fairs, even letting audiences light matches under his fingernails or throw darts into his back to prove his pain tolerance. At the peak of his fame, he earned nearly $1,000 per day (equivalent to over $5,000 today).
The Legacy of Monsieur Mangetout
Lotito’s greatest achievement—the two-year-long feat of eating a whole airplane—solidified his place in history. While Guinness World Records no longer recognizes "strange diets," his legacy remains unmatched.
Sadly, he passed away from natural causes in 2007 at age 57, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most bizarre performers in history. Whether a marvel of biology or a cautionary tale, Michel Lotito remains proof that sometimes, reality is stranger than fiction.
Would you ever take on an extreme eating challenge? Maybe just stick to hot wings.
Commentaires